Knitting machine



May 28, 1940. G. H. NYI-luis KNITTING MACHINE 7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet vl vFiled Oct.

BY 1 l f f 1% May 28, 1940.

G. H. NYI-mss 2,202,119

4 KNITTING MACHINE Filed oct. "7, 1957 s sheets-sheet 2 ams/e uw;

Fly' 7 INVENTOR.

6er/ff Henry /Yc//w/s QM MVM A T oRNEY May 28, 1940.

G. H. NYHUIS KNITTING MACHINE Filed Oct.` 7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l fein/offen Sa/e ar Hee/2 Pctcntc'cl Y'i940 UNITED STATES xm'rrmo momma omit ucm, Nynua, ncbm, ma., ssamm :c

Paramount Textile Machinery Co., Chicago, Ill.,- a corporation of Illinois 'Application octclicr i, i937, sc riai Nc. 167,347

'I'his inventionhas reference to knitting machines for knitting circular knit hosiery, commonly termed seamless and particularly to instrumentalities for knitting such an article in the so-called ringless construction; that is to' say,

its principal object is the elimination of the objectionable bands or rings noticeable in circular knit hosiery when silk yarn is used and this yarn is fed from one bobbin or spool'.

l0,v The disadvantages of such bands or ringsare fully discussed in U. S. Letters Patent granted to Charles A. Kaufman, #1,969,307, on August 7, i934. Notwithstanding the fact that the patent is limited to full-fashioned hosiery articles, the

objectionable feature above referred to is found with the same characteristics in seamless hosiery, and its elimination in the last-mentioned class of articles is just as important from the standfashioned hosiery.

It has been discovered that one method of eliminating these rings or bands has been to knit the body of the stocking, that is to say, the portions whichare revealed while the stocking is on the leg, from yarns fed from more than one, and y preferably three, different spools or bobbins of yarn, the said yarn being alternated for the knitting of successive courses, so that the inherent uneven nature of pure silk may be "evened out" and theh objectionable rings substantially eliminated, all as disclosed morein detail in said Patent #1,969,307. V A more particular object is the attainment of a stocking characterized not only by coursewise uniformity of stitches, but uniformity of stitches in adjacent courses, i. e., by the latter I refer to the elimination of the washboard eiect, well known tothose inthe art.

Inasmuch as sheer silk hosiery is confined principally to women, vthe present invention is disclosed particularly with reference to machines for knitting ladies hosiery, although it is not intended to be limited to that particular class of goods.

Accordingly, in addition to the principal object mentioned above, one purpose of my invention is a simple mechanism which may be attached to a knitting machine commonly used for the knitting of ladies seamless silk hosiery made of natural silk-as, for example, the widely known Scott 8i Williams model K machine, which knits a stocldng beginning at the welt andformed with a double welt turned automatically in the machine, although by referring 'to this particular,

construction of a stocking, I do not intend to the several bobbins. A further purpose of` the n) invention is the provision of yarn feeding and controlling means which may be attached to the knitting machine with very few changes in the mechanism theretofore existing, and of a simple foolproof nature. 35

other objects cf the invention wm become apparent in what follows, and will be alluded to as they arise. point of marketability as is the case with full- In the drawings, in which inconsequential parts are omitted for clarity: 20

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the principal portion of the attachment, with suicient of the knitting machine shown to indicate the relationship of the parts;

Figure 2 shows aside elevation looking from the left-hand side of the machine, that is to say, with the needle circle at the right;

Figure 3 shows a front elevation of a mechanism for controlling the tension of the body yarns: e 3o Figure 4 shows a plan view of the yarn con'- trolling mechanism of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a side elevation of a portion of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail view of a portion of the 35 yarn controlling mechanism;`

Figure 'i is a detailview of the cam and followerfor operating the yarn controlling mechanism shown in Figure 3;

Figure 8 is a detail of a thrust bar and yarn feeding fingers operated thereby; 40

Figure 9 is a detail of the cam for operating the thrust bar shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view of the stocking constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure l1 is a detail of the yarn tension controlling mechanism of Figure 3.

Figure l2 is a side elevation of an additional yarn tension controlling mechanism for the reinforcing yarn of the high splice heel and reinforced 50 sole;

Figure 13 is `a diagrammaticrepresentation showing the comparison in the length of the floated reinforcing yarns resulting from the use of the mechanism of Figure 12, and

assumed to be of the revolving cylinder type, al-

though with mo'dications, the present invention may be adapted to machines in which the needle circle is fixed and the cams and their related l parts revolved.

2,v 3, 4 and 5 are bevel gears customarily found on the machine for effecting rotation of the dial in unison with the needle cylinder. this dial being the one carrying the bits f or the automatic turning of the double welt. A frame' I0 is provided for supporting the working parts of the present mechanism, and it is provided with ears Il arrangedfor pivotal relationship with the shaft I2, already 'a part of the machine, and upon which 2 the dial and its operating parts are arranged to swivel so that accessibility to the knitting needles is facilitated. In this manner the mechanism of the present invention being interconnected with the gears driving the dial, and on the same I frame therewith, may be tilted backward with the dial when inspection of the knitting mechanism is desired, and the other parts of the improvement are so designed that it is not necessary to readjust any parts thereof when the tilting mechanism is returned to operating position.

The yarn guide I3 is the one with which the machine is equipped and the six customary yarn feeding fingers It remain in their former location, except lthat the three ngers to the right (as the observer faces the machine) are provided with lengthened rearwardly extending portions I3 for actuation by selecting fingers to be hereinafter described. The remaining three fingers are used for carrying reinforcing yarns other than those used in knitting the body portion of the stocking, and since they form no part of the present invention, will not be discussed in greater particularity.

Pivotally arranged on a shaft I1, supported by extensions 23 of the frame I0, are the three selector levers Isa, ib and 13e, suitably spaced by collars I9 and held in position on the shaft l1 by arms 23. The portion 24 of the selector arms 13a, I3b and I3c which co-operate with the por- 50 tions I3 of the yarn fingers 15a, I5b and lic, is arranged for adjustment with respect to the arm proper by being pivoted at 25; Vand through the adjusting and lock screws 23 and 21, the portion 24 may be shifted through a small angle to 55 change the relationship between the selector lever and the yarn finger individual thereto. At the other end of each of the selector levers are cam follower rollers 28 adjustable onslotted holes in the arms I8a, lband I8c, so that the proper timing oi the selector levers with relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder may be obtained. A shaft 32 is arranged for rotation in bearings 33 forming part of the frame I3. Aillxed to one end of said shaft is a bevel gear 34 co-operating with 3l a pinion 35, fixed to a cross shaft 35 journaled in I3. A further pinion 31 meshed with the gear 4, transmits rotation of the gear 4 through to gears 34 and 35, so that shaft 32 rotates in unison with the main driving gears 2, 3, 4 and 5. It will be 70 noted at this point that the pinion 35 has sumciently fewer teeth than the gear 34, so that the shaft 32 is rotated at a speed of one-third that of the gear 2. In other words, the needles cylinder rotates three times as fast as the shaft 32. 'I3 0f course, if more than three bobbins of body yarn are utilized, the speed ratio of 3:1 will change accordingly, so that for four bobbins, the ratio lwould be 4:1. etc.

Loosely iournaled on shaft 32 is the selector cam assembly 33 consisting of a drum on the surface of whichare mounted the selector cams 41a, 4Ib and 4Ic operating the levers I3a, I3b and I3c'through the medium of the followers 23. The cams 4Ia, 4Ib and 4Ic extend approximately 180 degrees around the cam drum 33, and in the said drum is provided a groove 42 to accommodate a piece of frictional material, as for example, leather belting 43 held in position in the groove 42, and in frictional relationship therewith by a spring 44, and the amxing of the other end 45 of the friction belt at some convenient point on the frame. The opposite end of the spring 44 is likewise attached to theframe in .some convenient manner.

Now referring to Figure 3, it will be noted that the cam drum 33 is provided with a bushing '43 integrally a part thereof andaifording a smooth rolling-relationship with the shaft 32. A collar 41 maintains the drum 33 in its longitudinal position on the. shaft and against the bearing 33. Afilxed to the shaft 32 is a collar 52 provided with two arms 53 (Figure 1), forming a slot therebetween. The arms 53 carry screws 54 provided with lock nuts. In sliding relationship with the screws 54, and in driven contact therewith, is an arm 55 extending axially of the shaft 32 and formed integrally with the collar 55, axially of the shaft 32 and formed integrally with the collar 55, axially slidable on the shaft 32. Another arm 51 on the collar 53 is arranged to co-operate with a lug 53 integral with the drum 33 and in a recess 53 thereof. The mechanism just described will be 4understood to be a clutch, so that rotary motion of the shaft 32 may be transmitted through the collar 52, arm 55, collar 55, arm 51 and lug 53, to rotate the drum 33; and the axial sliding of the collar 53 is utilized to engage and disengage the drum 33 from rotation with the shaft 32. p

'I'he engagement and disengagement of. the

.clutch assembly just described is effected by the following mechanism: On the main drum 32 of the machine (Figures 3 and '1) are cams 33 and 63a co-operating with a follower 34 supported for substantially vertical sliding movement in the framework of the machine, and maintained in contact with the cams 33 and 33a by a spring 35 xedat its other end to some suitable point on the frame of the machine. A gap 33 between cams 33 `and 33a provides for the downward movement of the bar 54. Pivotally mounted in an arm 31 of the bar 34 isa connecting rod 33 maintained by collars 33. On the vertical portion of the connecting rod 53 is fixed a collar 12 provided with an arm 13 extending substantially at right angles to said connecting rod and arranged at its extreme end to co-operate with a pin 14 (Figure l1), on one arm of the bell crank 15, pivoted at 13 to a support' 11 fixed to the frame of the machine in some convenient manner. The other arm 13 of the bell crank is arranged to co-operate with one end of the clutch lever 32, pivoted at 33' on the frame I0. opposite end of the clutch lever 32 is provided with a pin (Figure 3) slidably co-operating The' , o 2,209,119 connecting rod 68,-arm 13, bell crank lever 16 and clutch lever 82, and in co-op'eration with spring 84, move the collar 66 amally in either direction along the shaft' 32, thereby to engage or disengage the clutch lever heretofore described, and either initiate the drum 38 into rotation with shaft 32, or terminate such rotation at specific intervals of time as directed by the vlocation of the cams 63 and 63a 'and the pattern chainofA the machine.' n

Through the mechanism just describedrit f is possible to actuate` the selector levers |8a, |8b

and |8c through the cam drum 38 and its associated cams 4|a, f4|b and 4|c to, in turn, op-

erate the yarn fingers |611, |.5b and |5c in a selective manner, and at predetermined stages in the knitting process, the selection of stages being determined by the location and size of the cams 4 la,

4|b and 4|c, and cams 63 and 63a.

Yarn fingers |5a, |6b and |5c are provided 4arms 94 are made preferably of wire so as to be light, and hence rapidly responsive in operation,V

for reasons which will hereinafterappear, and are iixed at the end farthest from the eyelets 93 in levers 95, pivoted on a shaft 96 flxed in the frame of the machine in some convenient manner. 'I'he opposite arm of the lever 95 is provided with a spring 91, the other end of Which is attached to the frame of the machine in some convenient manner, to urge the arms 94 always in a counter-clockwise direction against which rotation they are held by the yarns a, b and c |04, and the tension discs-|03 are all mounted on a suitable support |05 carried by the frame of the machine.

Referring now to Figures 3, 4 and 6, there is provided a member |06 pivoted on a screw |01 in |05, and arranged to rotate thereabout, but

urged in a clockwise directionby the spring |08A fixed at its other end to the frame. Integrally with the member |06 are three arms |09 formed with their extreme ends rounded or V-shaped, to facilitatetheir entry between the tension discs |03 to separate them for a purpose to be described. Engaging with the member |06 is a sloped cam ||2 fixed to the upper end of the connecting rod 68, so that upon downward vertical actuation of the rod 69, the member |06 and its arms |09 are rotated in a counterciockwise direction against the spring |08 to force the extreme ends of the arm |09 between the halves of the tension discs and separate them. It will be noted that downward movement of the connecting rod 68 will engage the clutch and simuly taneously separate the tension discs;

During the knitting of certain parts of the stocking', it is necessary to move the yarn fingers |5a, |5b and |5c from their feeding position simultaneously, and this is effected by the mechanismshown in Figures 8 and 9. Cams ||3 and The yarns a, b

||3`a affixed-to the main drum 62 operate a thrust bar ||4 having an opposite end H6 `aufilciently broad to embrace the fingers 46a, ,lib and |6c, and thereby operate' them into and out ofv yarn feeding position together. Having thus described lthe mechanism, the

formation of the complete stocking will now bedetailed.. Figure l0 indicates diagrammatically the completed stocking. with the toe unlooped, and outlinedior clarity as in the finished shape, although it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art thatl the stocking is substantially the same diameter throughout.

The formation of the double welt A and the single welt B is done in the usual way for a stocking of the .kind under, construction. The

welt yarn -or yarns are fed asY usual through yarn fingers other than |6a, |611 or' |5c.

the single welt B, the cam drum 62 has rotated to bring the cam H3 a (Figure 9)- into position to operate the thrust bar ||4 to actuate yarn fingers I5a, |6b andv |5c, as a group, away from the knitting position. Slee Figure 8. -This actuation permits theI extended ends I6 of the said fingers to -move out of engagement with the selector levers |8a,' |8b and |8c, so that even though drum 38 continues to revolve, the levers |8a, |8b andv |8c are ineffective to operate the -yarn fingers.

` The portion C of the boot proper of the stocking is knitted of body yarn for several courses to clear below the knitting line before ringless knit-v Just. prior to the'-i'ormation of the double welt A and ting is commenced. The portion C will be knit vtion being. that upon completion of the previously knitted'stocking the camdrum 38 and selector cams Ma, @ib and 4|c are likely to be left in a position to permit either fingers |5a, |5b or |5c to move into'feeding position, but for the purposes of, my invention, it is immaterial which one of these fingers happens to come into position during the Vknittingl of portion C. While portion C is being knitted the clutch is disengaged by the rotation of the cam drum 62,5brnging high portion C (Figure 7) on the drum into position to move thrust bar 64 vertically and disengage the clutch. This initial actuation of one of the body yarn fingers is effected by the cam drum 62 being rotated vto a position such that the cam ||3a will permit the thrust bar ||4 through its spring to move vdownwardly and release fingers |5a, |5b or |5c for movement into knitting position. At this point one of the cams 4 la, 4|b or 4 Ic is in such position that the left hand end (Figure 2) of one of the selector levers |8a', |8b or |8c individual thereto, will `be in its lowermostV position and will. permit the yarn finger, also associated therewith, to be actuated by its spring 20 into knitting position. Inasmuch as the portion C of the stocking is not revealed when on the leg of the wearer, there is no disadvantage in not incorporating ringless knitting at that zone'.-

Over the /alance of theboot and thefoot portions, ref rred to as D and E in Figure l0, ringless knitting proceeds in the following manner: f

At theend of the region Cthe cam drum 62 is moved by the pattern mechanism so that through the cam 63, thrust bar 64 is released downwardly to operate the clutch lever 82, andI tssv with, and hence the yarn fingers Isa,l lib, and lic individual thereto, are operated alternately so that rst .lia is in the knitting .position and lib and i5c out. Then |512 is in the knitting position ting position and |5a and' lib are out, but not necessarily in this particular sequence, since as originally indicated, lib may be down first or |5a or |5c rst, and so on. By this selection, yarns a, b and c are introduced into the stocking alternately, to produce the ringless construction. It is important to actuate each of the yarn fingers |5a, |5b and |5c into`knitting position and 'to withdraw them therefrom with some exactness to ensure a vertical band of interlocked stitches at the rear of stocking of substantially uniform width. This object is attained by the use of two cam followers 28 individual to each cam 4|a, 4Ib and 4 |c adjustable with respect to each other and to the selector levers |8a, |8b and |8c to determine the rise and drop of the selector levers with relation to their cams 4|a, 4|b and 4|c.

During the reciprocating knitting of the heel pocket it is not necessary to actuate the yarn fingers alternately so that the main drum through its cam ||3 will operate the thrust bar 4 to move fingers |5a, |5b and |50 out of knitting position, and the same procedure is used during the knitting of the toe pocket.

Now having 'described the actual knitting operatlons, the operation of the yarn tension control Will be referred to. When yarn a is fed, previously knitted yarns b and c are held interlaced at the rear of the stocking and travel around the needle circle with the partially completed stocking, but it is necessaryto provide a yarn tensioning means to prevent the yarns not being knitted from interfering with the knitting operation and to carry them under the dial without such interference. 'I'his is effected by the arms 94 which, when tension is removed from the yarn individual thereto, by its removal from the knitting cycle will move upward through tension of the spring 91, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5. In other words, the arms 94 will move from their normal to their dotted position alternately and back again', depending upon whether their individual yarns are not being, or are being, knitted into the article and depending upon the position of the cylinder in its rotation. When ringless knitting is completed, the body yarns are taken out of the knitting line through'oiperation of their fingers |5a, I5b and |5c and gripped under the clamp on the dial, as already alluded to. However, when this is done it is necessary to take the tension from these yarns, otherwise they will be pulled from the binder by the urging of the springs 91. This operation is effected by the `downward movement of the thrust bar 64 from cam 63 or 63a to the level of cam drum 62, causing the member |86 and its associated a'rmswlliil to enter between the discs of the disc tensions and releasing the yarns a, b and c between the discs and the binder, whereupon the arms 94 are all free to move tov their upper dotted line position and the yarns a, b and c become'slack and cannot pull out from the binder. This operation is reversed when it is desired to recommence knitting the ringless courses.

Figure 14 indicates in a diagrammatic way the relationship of the ringless courses. The three yarns preferably employed are overlapped at the rear of the stocking, due to the introduction and withdrawal of each of the body yarns, in interlocked stitches and in a zone several wales wide.

volves.

These interlocked stitches are preferably gathered together by mock seaming the rear of the stocking in the well-known way, so that the finished article is not ordinarily distinguishable from a mock-seamed seamless stocking of the ordinary type. The position and extent of the interiocked stitches are shown in Figure l0.

On' a knitting machine of the type to which the device of the present invention is attached, there is ordinarily provided a pin on the-underside of the dial around which the reinforcing yarns used in thehigh splice heel and cradle sole are partially wrapped as theV needle cylinder re- 'I'he purpose of this pin is to provide tension on the float yarns incorporated into the reinforced knitting, and to facilitate the introduction of the reinforcing yarns at the jproper zones in the stocking. These float yarns are later trimmed oil' by hand.

In order to permit the yarns a, b and c to float under the dial during ringless knitting, the dial pin must be removed, otherwise there would be interference with the iioat. However, when this is done, some provision must be made to substitute for the actions of the dial pin and retain the tension required during knitting of the reinforcing yarns in the high splice heel and sole. The means employed are disclosed in Figure l2 wherein the reinforcing yarn is referred to as r. Yarn r after leaving the bobbin, passes through an eyelet |23 aiiixed to the machine, eyelet |24 formed in the end of the arm |25, and eyelet |26 also aiiixed to the frame of the machine, and comes to the knitting position or the yarn clamp, depending whether the reinforcing yarn is being knitted or held. Ordinary disc tensions |21 are also provided, but for this particular improvement have no significance. The arm |25 is `af fixed to a lever |28 pivoted at |29 to the machine frame. 'Ihe downwardly extending arm has connected therewith a spring |32 with its opposite end affixed to the machine in any convenient manner. Another arm of the lever |28 is provided with a pin |33 coacting with the bent end |34 of a rod |35 vertically slidable in a bracket |36 fastened to the frame. The lower end ofthe rod |35 is journaled at |31 to a thrust bar |38, the upper end of which is pivoted at |39 to a link |48 swivelling on |42 to enable the bar |38 to be moved substantially in a vertical direction. A guide or bracket |43 is provided for the lower end of the bar .|38 and a spring |44 extending between the bar |38 and bracket |43 urges the bar in a downward direction against the cams |45 and |45a. It will' be'obvious that the upperend of the bar |38 instead of being pivoted as indicated at |39 and |42, may be arranged to slide in a bracket of any convenient structure. The cams .|45 and |45a are affixed to the main drum 62.

Operation of the mechanism just described is as follows: At the proper time in the rotation of the main drum the low point between the cams |45 and |45a referred to on the drawing by the term high splice comes underneath the lower end of the bar |38 and spring |44 moves the said bar and its connecting rod I 35 downwardly. This will, in turn, permit pin |33 and its associated arm |25 to move counter-clockwise and provide tension in the yarn r. Arm |25 continues released all during the knitting of the highsplice so that yarn r as it is incorporated in the stocking by actuation of its particular yarn finger is constantly provided with tension, thereby substituting for the tension formerly provided by the pin moana.

under the dial; In other words, as the stocking rotates` with the needle cylinder during knitting, the arm |25 will move freely upward and downward as the yarn floats under the dial ina method which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. A stop |52 aiilxed to the frame of the machine limits the upward movement of the arm |25 so that the spring |32 cannot move it beyond the range required for proper operation.

The mechanism of Figure 12 operates identically during Vthe knitting of the double sole but by that time the main drumhas revolved through the interval required for the knitting of the neel pocket, and then the low part between cams |45 and |45a,entitled on the drawing "double sole, will operate the bar |38 and its associated mechanism in the manner aforesaid.

The most important advantage introduced by the mechanism of Figure 12 is a shortening of the floating yarn in the high splice heel and reinforced sole, formerly produced by the presence of the dialpin, since it will be seen (Figure 13) o that whereas formerlythe oating yarn was required to pass around the pin in the center of the dial, it now floats only from one margin of the splicing to the other, shortening the length of the waste yarn considerably and resulting in substantial economies inthe knitting process. This difference inthe lengths of the floating yarns before and after the use of my present invention is indicated dlagrammatically in Figure 13. The straight full line extending between the margins of the reinforced sole or high splice, as the case may be, indicates the floating yarn when using the tension device of Figure l2. The dotted line between the same margins indicates the length of the floated yarn when the dial pin is used.

1. A knitting machine for producing seamless, ringless stockings comprising a main pattern drum, a cylinder supporting a series of needles; adrive shaft with interposed gear connections for rotating said cylinder; a plurality of independently movable feeds for feeding as many individual main yarns of the same kind and 2 in'a predetermined sequence.

rotating cylinder supporting a series of'needles;

a plurality of independently movable feeds for feeding as many individual main yarns of the same kind and nominal gauge; a rotatable drum normally at rest and having circumferentially spaced cam segments, one individual to each feed; means interconnecting said drum and said feeds, a driving source; a clutch linterposed be- '.tween said driving source and said drums; and

means under the control of the main pattern drum to engage and disengage said clutch and thereby initiate and terminate rotation of said drum relative to said cylinder during the knitting of predetermined portions of the stocking at a rate of speed inversely proportional to the number of feeds to actuate said feeds, so that one thereof serves. its yarn for one course of the knitting, another thereof for the next course, and so on alternately and repeatedly during the knitting of said predetermined portions of the stocking.

3. In a knitting machine a main pattern drum, a cylinder supporting a series of needles; a plurality of independently movable feeds for feeding 'as many individual yarns; a rotatable drum normally at rest and having circumferentially spaced cam segments. one individual tov each feed; levers -interconnecting said feeds with said segments; means underA the control/of the mainpattern drum to initiate and terminate rotation of said rotatable drum to operate saidfeedsI alternately during predetermined phases of thel knitting to introduce said yarns alternately into the knitted stocking; and a pair of followers on' each of said levers, said followers being independently ad- .'lustable circumferentially of the drum to determine within accurate limits the points at which said yarns are introduced to, and withdrawn fromgthe knitted fabric.

4. A knitting machine for producing seamless, ringless stockings comprising` a main pattern drum; a cylinder,` supporting aseries of needles; a drive shaft with interposed connections for rotatingsaid cylinder a plurality of independently movable feeds for feeding any number of indiv-idual main yarns of the same kind and nominal gauge; a cam drum having circumferentially spaced segments for controlling interchange of.

said feeds in a predetermined repeating sequence, a second series of connections from the drive shaft adapted to rotate said cam drum; and means between said second series of connections and said cam drum, and under the control of said main pattern drum, for imparting intermittent rotation to said -cam drum to operate said feeds GERRIT HENRYNYHU'IS. 

